New Member -1St Predator Suit Buildup

[spgfx]

Hello all I'm a new member to this forum and the whole world of costume or COSPLAY builds. My daughter and I have been to a few Cons in Orlando and after last years Megacon we decided we need to create costumes for next year !

I love the Pred. movies and thought it would make the perfact costume. I want a costume with a full mask so people could not see my ugly mug.

Predator screams COOL so I decided to jump in. I found this site while searching so pics and had no idea how much info was out there on this subject and how much great info is on this site. It's a whole new word.

I have been building for 2 months and have not really taken time to record any info and thank some of the members here for the great info. I will be laid up from surgery (very minor cosmetic, having a few "bumps" removed) this weekend and decided it was time to share with the class. I plan on shooting some pics and describe my work in progress. I hope you all can enjoy, provide any help and possiably help others.
THANK YOU ALL and check back for updates.

ABOUT MY BUILD BASICS:

I stared out modeling my build off the SCAR Pred. but was not to crazy about some of the details and color, so I decided to create my own design.  This will allow my to use some creativity and make things look my way. Color scheme will be mainly gold with gloss black details. There are to many silver Preds. out there and I want to stand out. Thinking about calling it "the golden warrior"

Most of the armor will be EVA foam. Cheap, super easy to work with and very light. I'm looking at wearing this for hours so comfortable and light are a necessity.

I opted to go with just a Bio on the top. I did not want to deal with a full mask / bio setup. 
I don't have any experiance with latex so the Mr I. suit seemed to be to much to tackle at this point. 
I got a skin color Morph suit that I will paint up. Also got some netting to go over top. 

 

[HAL1138]

Welcome Spgfx! Looking forward to seeing your build. Best of luck in your surgery... hope its not anything serious.

 

[spgfx]

BIO MASK:

Sorry no pics of the work in progress.

Started with some u-foam sheet for basic form and carved out the shape.
Once I had it right I followed up with a coat of fiberglass.
Next a texturing coat of Bondo.
Gloss black paint followed by a dry brush gold.

DREADS:
5/8 and 3/4 backing rod with plasticoat and gloss black coat. Tapered ends are done on a belt sander.
beads are PVC, I hit edges and 2 grooves on belt sander for a rugged look.
beads are painted gold and antique gold.

TRI LASER: Still needs mounting in mask.
Laser cut from 1/8 thick silver acrylic
3v laser diodes - I use funplastic to hold the tri laser alignment. What a pain to get this right !

 

[KmikzeKen]

Welcome aboard!  Looks like you have a great start, I look forward to seeing your updates!  Best of luck with your surgery!

 

[spgfx]

My surgery went without a problem. I have some nice big battle scars now. I figure I will post some pics while on some good meds ! That way when I'm back to  normal I can have a surprise waiting to see what I posted.

 

[spgfx]

Here are some pics of the Thigh armor. This it the first piece I completed to test out my color and texturing schemes.


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Here is the top armor. This section went thru a bunch of trial and error. This is my first build of any kind of custume so I'm learning so much. It always happens that I find the answer to any problems after I try something that does not work.

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You can also see the Morph suit I'm going to use for the skin and the netting. It took some time and research to find the proper netting size but I think it will work.



This is the center chest piece working. I made it multiple sections so I get some flex when bending. 
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Here is a detail on the buckles I used for the armor. I had a lot of trial and error trying to get my armor to go on an off easily and hide and fastners. I want to be able to get it on and off by myself. 
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This is the leg armor working. I have not decided what to do for the feet yet.

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This is the blade gauntlet. This was the first piece that I tried to paint. I use plasti dip and rustolium Hammered paint. I was try to get a nice metal finish but I was not happy with the results.
The blade and working mechs are laser cut from silver and black acrylic. 
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[spgfx]

I need to work on a backpack / cannon rig. Do the hoses that come from the mask go to this rig ? 

 

[spgfx]

I was looking at my bio a few days ago and I did not know what I was thinking ! I must not have really looked at it. It
Looks like a storm trooper helmet !?!? Big and bulky on the sides and really low. So it took the hacksaw to it. Now with a fresh prospective, better reference pics and some Bondo it think it looks a lot better. I will post some pics soon and see what everyone else thinks.

 

[HAL1138]

How did you get the texture on the foam?

 

[paitan]

Great stuff! Just one question, since I'm gonna make one myself in the near future; how do you make sure that your shin guard stays intact when you wear them (and possibly abuse them with all the walking and posing)?

 

[spgfx]

Being a beginner i use texture to hide all the bad cuts, gaps and un-evenness. The texture on the foam is black paintable caulk. I use Locktite but I would imagine you could use any paintable caulking.


I applied a very thin layer in the foam and filled any caps then I pulled up peaks by tapping it with my finger to create the texture. I was able to create different textures by tapping the area more or with 2 fingers or tapping harder. I worked about a 3-4 inch section at a time. I found that the caulking dried pretty fast in the humid Florida heat. I created a deep texture by applying a thicker layer and instead of tapping it I put my finger down and pulled up slower this created very large peaks. For touch up I Was able to just dip my finger in the caulking coming from the tube and applying "dabs" in spots.
If you work quick enough and do not like the surface as you are working just wipe you finger over it and start again.

After the caulking was dry I sprayed with Plasti Dip and then a light coat of black gloss.
I tested the finishes surface a some scrap pieces and found it to be very durable. I was able to flex it without coming off and there was very little change in the way the foam moved.

Thanks for the question and I hope this helps.

 

[spgfx]

Great stuff! Just one question, since I'm gonna make one myself in the near future; how do you make sure that your shin guard stays intact when you wear them (and possibly abuse them with all the walking and posing)?

This is my first build so I don't have any experience in real life. My guards go all around and will be part of my boots / shoes so they will stay in place. I wore them around for a bit with no fitment or movement problems. I'm sure they some if the more experienced members will have some great advice.

Thank you for the question and I wish you luck in your build.

 

[spgfx]

Here are some pics of my bio after the rework. I cut the sides down a lot. I think it looks like a Predator bio instead of a Storm Trooper helmet. It still needs more sanding before paint but it just wanted some opinions before finish , so I get it right this time.
 

 
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:7573]   [sharedmedia=gallery:images:7572]

 

[spgfx]

This is an idea I have had kicking around in my head for some time. I had a bit of time waiting for my bio to dry so I played around a bit on my laser.
I used 1/4. thick MDF for this. I have cut it before but not this thick. It took quite some time but I was able to create the graphics to get it engraved in different layers. I'm really happy with the results and it will look even better with some sanding before assembly.

I will have to try this process on some other items and see what can be done.

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[spgfx]

Here are some updated photos of the painted armor items. Things are coming along quite well but slow. I'm glad I have a lot of time till Megacon 2015. I have been working on weapons a bit and playing around more with the laser. I got the Shuriken all assembled and a rough paint coat on it. I'm also working a dagger. I want to do something different than the AVP ceremonial dagger. I came up with my own design with some engraving. I thinking of making two and instead of mounting them on the leg armor having them on my belt on either side of the buckle. The prototype in the image is not bad but the engraving details are too complex and did not come out good. I need to remake the knife with a different image for the engraving and finish the handle.


 
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[annastasiacospl]

Looks great so far!  I'm also working on a Predator build for MegaCon.  Hopefully, we both finish in time!  Your weapons look so good! 

 

[paitan]

Whoaaa!!! The gold accents really brings the armor to life! Great work!

 

[scanff]

I'm really loving the gold armor too

 

[yanchus]

I agree. The gold definitely adds a lot of character to each piece- well done spgfx. Look forward to seeing more.

 

[KmikzeKen]

Very impressive, your armor looks fantastic and I love those weapons!